CPS chief of staff heading to Florida post

Noreen S. Ahmed-UllahTribune reporter

A Chicago Public Schools executive who was formerly the district’s chief administrative officer and more recently was appointed the Board of Education’s chief of staff has been selected as the new superintendent of a school district in Florida.

Robert Runcie, 50, rose to the top ranks of CPS leadership under former schools CEO Ron Huberman. In December 2010, after Huberman left the district, Runcie became a chief area officer, heading a network of schools, and his name at one point was floated as a possible schools chief under Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Emanuel eventually chose an outsider, Jean-Claude Brizard, as CEO of the district. Most recently Runcie was named chief of staff to the Board of Education.

Runcie, who has never been a teacher or principal, was chosen Wednesday to lead the schools in Broward County, Fla., the nation’s sixth-largest school district. He had emphasized his work in a big school district in a variety of administrative roles since 2003 to beat out his contenders.

At CPS, Runcie spearheaded efforts to redo the IT infrastructure district-wide, helped in CPS’ performance management initiatives and led in the development of community action councils for targeted neighborhoods.

Before joining CPS, he had served as president and founder of a management consulting and technology service company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College and a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.